


To Ashes

by StephanieRitaClark (StephirothWasTaken), StephirothWasTaken



Series: Whumptober 2020 [14]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fire, Flash Fic, Gen, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Whumptober 2020, but it's better now, not sure it fits the prompts but whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26996140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StephirothWasTaken/pseuds/StephanieRitaClark, https://archiveofourown.org/users/StephirothWasTaken/pseuds/StephirothWasTaken
Summary: A man burns his memories.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949482
Kudos: 1
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	To Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> This is super mild whump, and it doesn't even really fit the prompt, I think.  
> But I didn't think of anything else, so this is what I'm putting out there.

Some memories were not worth holding on to.

Felix had been the sentimental type when he had been a much younger, more naïve boy, but back then, he had thought getting hurt on the regular was a normal thing for children to endure. His parents had brainwashed him into thinking it was his fault for being in their way when they were angry at someone else entirely, and it had taken years of therapy for him to get that dangerous thought out of his head.

There had been good memories. His mother had seemed proud of his high marks on his report cards, taking him out to get ice cream despite their low paychecks. Sometimes she would find him a small gift, like a keychain, or take him to an arcade or movie theater. Felix had held onto pictures she had insisted they take together whenever she bullied him into wearing matching clothes out in public, to present the image of a perfect family.

Now those photos were in a pile, burning in the fire pit he had picked out of someone’s trash for this very purpose. It would appall most that he took this step when his therapist encouraged him to continue to look at the good memories with fondness, but Felix would rather leave them in the past, would rather move on and let go of them. They were a reminder of the good times, but they always bled into the bad times, the moments in his life that he was still struggling to come to terms with.

Felix would rather burn those memories away and replace them with something better, replace them with memories of his wife and their daughter.

**Author's Note:**

> This is day fourteen of Whumptober2020! It's been a rough week for me so far, so I'm not surprised I'm already feeling a little burnt out on these.
> 
> I am also posting these on [tumblr](https://stephanieritaclark.tumblr.com/post/630815305413902336/whumptober-2020-masterlist) and [tapas](https://tapas.io/series/In-Unsafe-Hands).
> 
> These prompts will also be used in a full-length novel that I am writing as well. It will have some nasty eldrich stuff that I'm excited to write about. You can stay up to date on that by signing up to my newsletter, which will also allow you to have a free short story called "Witch."  
> [Click here for the newsletter.](https://www.stephanieritaclark.com/sign-up/)


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